Air travel is never fun. Packet seats, cabin pressure, tight areas, greasy and cheesy food, too many layovers, changing time zones, and cold air. While a certain amount of discomfort is unavoidable. There are a few precautions you can take to make your flying experience seamless. Here's what you should eat and not eat before, after and during a flight, as per an expert nutritionist.
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What to eat before taking off the flight? if your flight take off at night, you should pack nuts and a vegetable sandwich in airtight containers to carry onboard. If you want to avoid bread, the best option is to switch it with boiled potatoes or sweet potatoes slice or mash them and add in lemon, salt, cumin powder and red chilly powder. You can also add a great option and easy to pack.
On the morning of your flight, drink a glass of coconut water or lemonade without sugar to keep your electrolyte levels up.
Bonus Tip: Drink two glasses of water as your flight takes off to prevent ear pressure, and chew on fennel or cardamom as the flight takes off and lands. Constant chewing increases the swallowing of saliva and helps unblock your ears. Avoid having anything with a lot of sugar before your flight as it can lead to inflammation and bloating. What you should do If you are carrying your food on a flight?
Upset guts often go hand-in-hand with travelling. Most of the passengers think that they should eat what they are offered onboard because they've paid for their ticket. However, the healthiest and safest thing to do is carry your food that suits your body or is good for your guts.
Airline meals can be less healthy and more greasy, high in fat and calories, low in fibre and devoid of nutrition, all of which can cause and aggravate indigestion. Even no 12 or 24-hour flights, stay light on food and drink more water. Fresh fruits like apples, pears, and bananas are easy to carry, as are dried fruits like figs, prunes, apricots and dates, as well as nuts like peanuts, pistachios, and cashews. These are packed with enough energy and nutrients to help you stay light yet nourished. Put them in your handbag in small air-tight bags and much when you feel hungry.
Alternatively, you can pack dry wholegrain vegetable sandwiches and wraps, veggie sticks like carrots and cucumbers, and wholegrain crackers to snack on. While this might take a bit of planning organisation and preparation, the benefits are circulation and sleep quality onboard, no tummy trouble, and reduced jet lag far outweigh the effort.
Are you opting for an airline meal?
If is that so, I would recommend ordering a healthy low-fat meal beforehand. If you can, pre-book the "heart-friendly" or healthy meal that many airlines offer. These meals don't contain cheese and fried foods. Air India and Vistara, for example, offer meal options that are low in calories, low fat, gluten-free as well as low sodium on domestic flights. Opt for a hot meal and avoid additional bread and butter that is typically part of it. So, ensure that eat the salad or fruit instead. Ideally, skip the dessert since the sugar only adds to inflammation.
If you’re on a red-eye what will you do?
In case, your flight is in the middle of the night, prioritise sleeping over eating. Snack on dried fruits and nuts when you get peckish, and drink about a litre of water onboard. For breakfast, opt for low-fat yoghurt and if you do need to eat a meal, opt for a vegetable sandwich or a low-calorie meal.
What and how you should drink on a flight?
Dehydration and motion sickness and some of the most common side effects of being on a flight. Prevent this by carrying and drinking a lot of water on the flight. Our body needs much more water—almost an additional litre in the air than on the ground. So carry a big bottle or two and make sure you finish them before landing. Completely avoid aerated beverages, alcohol, wine, coffee and tea as they all cause dehydration. Caffeine will also disturb your sleep on the flight which may swing your food. Juices only add excess calories without fibre and don't let hydrate your body. A healthier option for an in-flight beverage is tomato juice with a dash of pepper.
After a flight?
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Your post-flight meal depends entirely on your place and time of arrival, but the first thing to do after landing is to hydrate. Drink sufficient water and if you have access to lemonade, you can have that too.
Bonus Tip: Get a cup of ginger tea or chew on a piece of fresh ginger to settle any indigestion issues you may be facing. Keep your first meal after a flight simple: a grain (rice or bread), a protein (lentils, dairy or poultry) and lots of veggies in the form of stir-fry, soup, and salad or sabzi. While having a safe flight experience is important, it's also important to make it wholesome.
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